Hummer Guy

AM General announced today that it will officially unveil its civilian offering, the HUMVEE C-Series, at the International Defense Exhibition & Conference in Abu Dhabi next week. The venue and locale isn’t an odd place for AM General to be exhibiting, but the choice to unveil a civilian model on the other side of the world at a conference that civilians aren’t allowed to attend begs the question: Is the C-Series actually meant for….civilians?

The release even says, “The HUMVEE C-Series Kit is designed and intended only for civilian commercial use and will not be sold for military purposes,” yet…it’s debuting at a conference that in order to attend you must prove to be a “bonafide member of the defense industry.”

AM General – this is your chance to do something remarkable. Please don’t screw it up.

To be sure, even a kit-car civilian Humvee wouldn’t be a vehicle just anyone would purchase – but the fact the first audience to lay eyes on it will governments and defense contractors is indicative that AM General doesn’t believe that civilians in North America are the target market.

That’s not to say that civilians weren’t, or aren’t still in the target market – but perhaps the market approach has shifted after lackluster demand over the last three months on the ordering site. We can’t confirm low ordering levels, but requests for information on volume or the ‘viability determination’ of the kit have gone unanswered by AM General – with today’s announcement being the only communication since October from the automaker.

We suspect the official line will be, “In addition to enthusiasts in the United States, AM General believes the C-Series will appeal to citizens around the world.”

Hopefully AM General will consult someone with civilian automotive marketing soon if they plan to actually sell to….civilians. Or, they’ll stop trying to pretend via a line in a press release that defense contractors or governments aren’t in their target market.

Complete release from AM General after the jump.
[Continue Reading]

HUMMER may not be an official sponsor of Rod Hall Racing anymore, but that won’t stop Rod from running an H3 from his collection in this year’s Baja 1000. The 2012 Baja 1000 the 45th running of the famed race, and Rod has entered in every one – and been quite successful.

Hall has captured a record 21 Baja 1000 wins, 18 Baja 500 wins and he’s the only person to win the overall (even beating the motorcycles), in a production 4-wheel drive.

Next week Rod Hall will turn 75. Awesome.

Best of luck to Rod Hall Racing and “Team HUMMER”

General Motors may not have any staff devoted to HUMMER anymore since ending production several years ago, but they still own the brand name and the legacy – both of which are valuable assets. The social media agency in charge of managing the HUMMER website and facebook page, which we’ve been sharply critical of in the past, has been using the HUMMER facebook page to advertise their search for the ‘ultimate HUMMER fan.’

Presumably, they’re looking for someone who can interact with HUMMER’s 284k facebook fans without sounding like a stodgy big-city PR firm, yet holding the corporate line since it still technically falls under the GM asset umbrella. The details have yet to be announced, so we’re unsure if this would be a paid-gig or volunteer. We’re leaning towards the former since the two posts indicate they’re looking for a ‘fan’ – which may imply doing it out of the love for the HUMMER brand.

It’s a step in the right direction, since HUMMER fans and owners are unique, loyal, and can smell B.S. from a mile away.

Who knows – but this may be the only job in the world working directly *for* the HUMMER brand.